The 18-mile walk started after "home shuttle service" dropped me off at Carpinteria, of course after devouring a huge breakfast and packing lots of lunch food. After leaving Carpinteria, I found myself walking on the shoulder of 101--noisy but adequately shouldered. Once on the old Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), the walk became a pleasant walk along the beach front. Strange to be walking along a "tsunami hazard zone"--bet Juan Bautista de Anza had no idea of that hazard! The photographer from the Ventura County Star met me about a mile out from the mission and started shooting away. To my surprise nearly thirty hometown friends made an appearance at the mission at about 4:30pm to congratulate me on this 16th milestone (with only 5 more missions to go). It truly warmed my heart to see the support. Hanna, reporter from the Ventura County Star Newspaper interviewed me and then a group of ten of us finished the event at Yolies with some good Mexican food and drink--a real fun occasion. Particularly noteworthy about the mission is that it was the ninth and last to be founded by Father Serra (March 31, 1782). Like so many other missions, earthquakes, fires, and other disasters have necessitated numerous reconstructions of the church itself. It matters little how close or far what we see today corresponds to what existed early on--it's a joy to feel the history! Here are a few photos along the way:
